New home construction is on the rise in North Texas. When an owner or builder seeks to construct a new home within a town or city in Texas, they are required to first obtain certain permits from the municipality before construction can begin. If the home is to be constructed in an unincorporated area of a county, then any required permits will be obtained from the county instead of a municipality.

In Texas, there are areas beyond a city’s limits which may be regulated by a municipality. These areas are called “extraterritorial jurisdiction” or “ETJ”. The size of the ETJ depends on the type of municipality. The types of municipal governments are divided into two basic categories, general-law municipalities and home-rule municipalities. A Municipality with a population of more than 5,000 may choose to become a home-rule municipality.

The general rule is that a municipality cannot enforce its building codes and permitting requirements within its ETJ. However, a home-rule municipality may enforce its building codes and permitting rules within its ETJ if an ordinance authorizes it to do so. General-law municipalities on the other hand are limited to those powers that have been conferred by the Texas Constitution or state law and may not adopt ordinances which extend beyond such authorizations.

Recently, some general law municipalities have taken the stance that certain state laws and cases have provided the requisite authority of a general-law municipality to enforce their building codes and permitting rules within their ETJ. One of the significant reasons these small towns want to enforce their building codes and permitting rules within their ETJ is to obtain large permitting fees for the administration of the permitting process. The administration of the permitting process includes conducting periodic inspections and approvals at certain stages of the construction. The process typically ends in a final inspection and approval which allows the home to be occupied. However, it is not unusual for these smaller municipalities to not have the necessary manpower to properly administer the permitting process.

Lakewood Village, Texas, is one general-law municipality that has attempted to enforce its building codes and permitting rules within its ETJ. Lakewood Village is inhabited by approximately 620 people. The town is located southeast of Denton on the shores of Lake Lewisville. Lakewood Village can be accessed from FM 720 and El Dorado Parkway by way of East US 380 or by the Lewisville Lake toll bridge accessed from Swisher Road via I-35E.

Enter Harry Bizios.[1] Mr. Bizios wanted to construct a $1.2 million home in Lakewood Village’s ETJ. He obtained all of the necessary permits from Denton County to construct his home. Before Mr. Bizios could construct the home, Lakewood Village applied for and obtained a temporary injunction stopping Mr. Bizios’ construction. The Town contended that Mr. Bizios had violated Lakewood Village ordinance 11-16 which authorized Lakewood Village to enforce its building codes and permitting rules within its ETJ. According to Town’s secretary who testified in the injunction proceeding, Lakewood Village sought to charge Mr. Bizios almost $15,000.00 for the issuance of a building permit. Mr. Bizios appealed the issuance of the temporary injunction to the 2nd Court of Appeals (Fort Worth), and the court issued its opinion resolving the issue on New Year’s Eve of 2014. The full decision can be found at 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 13939.

Essentially, the Fort Worth court decided in favor of Mr. Bizios. The court found that the Town’s ordinance went beyond the authority afforded to general-law municipalities by the legislature. In agreeing with Mr. Bizios, the court stated, “Because none of the statutes referenced by the Town expressly grant a general-law municipality the authority to extend its building code in its ETJ, and because we have otherwise found none that does so, the trial court abused its discretion by granting the injunction.” The court then reversed the trial court’s order and remanded the case back to the trial court for further proceedings. Lakewood Village has filed a petition requesting that the Texas Supreme Court review the Court of Appeals’ decision.

While the issue is not yet finally settled, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals has upheld the prohibition of a general-law municipality to regulate building codes and permitting rules within its ETJ. Once the Texas Supreme Court decides if it will review the decision, and if it does issue a final determination of this issue, we will let you know what happens. Until then, the general rules referenced herein will continue to apply where building within the ETJ of a general-law municipality.

Scott Alagood is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both Commercial and Residential Real Estate Law and may be reached at alagood@dentonlaw.com and www.dentonlaw.com.

[1] For the record, neither the author nor his law firm represented any party to the legal proceeding nor played a part in the legal proceeding referenced in the article

With the economy beginning to pick up, new housing starts and sales of existing homes seem to be on the upswing as well. It is important to know what duties the seller has in disclosing the physical condition of a home, and to what extent a buyer may rely upon such disclosures in purchasing real property. Depending on the type of property being sold, commercial, residential, farm & ranch, unimproved, etc…., the required disclosures vary to some extent. This article will solely focus on the required disclosures involved in the sale of residential real estate.

“Residential real estate” is defined as a single dwelling unit of residential real property located in Texas. Section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code governs a seller’s duty to disclose the condition of residential real estate. You may review the promulgated disclosure form on the Contract Forms tab of the Texas Real Estate Commissioner’s website found at http://www.trec.state.tx.us.

The disclosures required by Section 5.008, include (1) the presence and condition of equipment, fixtures and improvements; (2) the presence or absence of working smoke detectors; (3) defects in walls, foundations, plumbing, electrical, or other major components of the property, including “structural” components; (4) potential problems with termite damage, flooding, aluminum wiring, asbestos, or lead-based paint; (5) whether any item, equipment, or system is in need of repair; and (6) other items affecting the property such as alterations or repairs made without permits or non-compliance with codes, deed restrictions, common areas, and lawsuits.

For “lawsuits”, Section 5.008 only requires the disclosure of “pending” lawsuits at the time the disclosure is made, and does not require disclosure of previous suits which have been dismissed, settled, or completed through final judgment.

Disclosure of “structural” repairs includes any repairs performed to the load-bearing portion of a residence, and includes the foundation, walls, and roof. Repairs to cabinets, sinks, bathroom fixtures, and drywall not caused by a failure in the structural portion of the residence are not required to be disclosed as “structural” repairs. Other areas of Section 5.008 may require the disclosure of repairs for those items.

A seller is not required to disclose to a potential buyer any deaths on the property that are unrelated to a physical condition associated with the property, or AIDS or HIV-related health problems of previous occupants.

The seller’s disclosure notice must be completed to the best of the seller’s knowledge and belief as of the date of completion and signature. If there are items, components, or repairs which are not known by the seller on that date and time, the seller must indicate that fact. There is no legal obligation of a seller to conduct an investigation into matters of which the seller has no knowledge nor any continuing obligation to disclose matters that are later discovered. Also, a seller’s disclosure notice is not a warranty or guarantee by the seller of the physical condition of the property or dwelling.

However, particular attention should be paid to the form of the disclosure notice being used. Some residential real estate sales contracts promulgated by real estate trade associations may include disclosures which go beyond those required by Section 5.008. It is important to read each form of disclosure closely and make sure that each response is true and correct at the time and date such is being made. Although not required by law, supporting documentation of any disclosed defect or repair may assist the seller in later defending against allegations of misrepresentation or deceptive trade practices.

Also, unless the real estate agent or broker has actual knowledge of a misrepresentation contained in the seller’s disclosure notice and fails to bring such to the attention of the buyer or the buyer’s agent, a seller’s real estate agent or broker is not legally responsible for any misrepresentations made by the seller in its disclosure notice.

Certain types of residential real estate sales transactions are exempted from providing a disclosure notice. These include (1) court ordered sales; (2) transfers by a bankruptcy trustee; (3) deeds in lieu of foreclosure; (4) judicial and non-judicial foreclosure sales; (5) sales by a fiduciary or administrator of a decedent’s estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust; (6) transfers between co-owners; (7) transfers to a spouse or heir; (8) transfers incident to a divorce; (9) transfers to or from a governmental entity; (10) new residences which have not been previously occupied; and (11) where the value of the dwelling does not exceed five percent of the value of the property.

Finally, where a seller fails to provide a disclosure notice to a buyer, the buyer’s sole remedy is to terminate the contract for any reason within seven days from buyer’s receipt of the notice.